Razon slams GGAM for forum shopping

MANILA, Philippines — Ports and casino tycoon Enrique Razon dismissed Global Gaming Asset Management Philippines’ (GGAM) latest legal action against Bloomberry Resort Corp. as “shameless forum shopping.”

Last week, GGAM filed a suit in a federal court in New York – where Razon supposedly has properties – to push for the enforcement of a $298.6 million arbitration award by a Singapore court in favor of GGAM.

GGAM is a Las Vegas-based casino operator tapped by Razon in 2011 to help develop the Solaire Resort & Casino in Parañaque, but terminated its services in 2013, resulting in a legal battle between the two parties.

In 2016, a Singapore-based arbitration court ruled that GGAM’s management services contract with Solaire Resorts “had been unjustly terminated in 2013.” It also upheld GGAM’s claim to an 8.7 percent take in Bloomberry Resorts.

However, Bloomberry said the enforcement of the arbitral award is still on appeal in the Singapore Court of Appeals.

GGAM has filed different cases against Razon and his companies in various territories – Singapore, Hong Kong and now in New York, all meant to enforce the arbitral award.

“Mr. Razon (and the companies associated with him) will vigorously oppose this shameless GGAM forum shopping and attempt to enforce an arbitral award against those who are not a party to the arbitration,” Razon’s listed hotel and casino operator Bloomberry Resorts said over the weekend.

In the latest suit, GGAM said Razon solicited its services in 2011 to help develop the resort and then terminated the agreement six months after it opened in 2013.

“The suit also accuses Razon of working to prevent Global Gaming from selling its rights in the project,” according to a report by Bloomberg.

Bloomberry said the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) has issued a writ of attachment and preliminary injunction against the shares in Bloomberry that GGAM was trying to sell while the arbitration was pending.

GGAM’s action to lift the attachment and injunction issued by the RTC is even pending in the Philippine Supreme Court, Bloomberry said.

Bloomberry said GGAM previously dragged Razon in a suit in Hong Kong against Deutsche Bank to compel the release of the shares in BRC subject of the RTC attachment and injunction.

GGAM had to ask the Hong Kong court to suspend the proceedings because of the subsisting Philippine court actions. It had to pay the cost of Mr. Razon as the Hong Kong court considered GGAM’s implicating Mr. Razon there unwarranted,” Bloomberry said.